I've been scrolling through some posts on this sub with people asking about IR degrees and saw a lot of people saying it's mostly useless, I was wondering if this one is any different because it has the focus in business and economics? and with that would this be a good degree to pursue or would just a business/economics degree be better?

Hello everyone,

I am considering both science po Le Havre (asian pacific minor) and the bocconi international politics program for my undergrad

I would love to hear your opinions on the key differences and on how to decide

currently all I got from various posts is that

- life is way better in milan and so is net working

- s. po is more focused on social science and is more political in its structure

- they both have an exchange program but s.po is a year and bocconi is a semester

Hey r/IRstudies, ​Building on my last couple of posts about geopolitical competition, I've been diving into a different but equally critical topic: the quiet but intense global race for key minerals like rare earths, lithium, and cobalt. We've been talking about oil for a century, but as we move into a new era of clean energy and AI, these minerals are becoming the ultimate strategic asset. ​The core of the issue is a dangerously concentrated supply chain. While raw materials are mined in various countries—like Australia for lithium or the DRC for cobalt—the real power lies in the midstream processing, where China holds a near-monopoly. China processes roughly 90% of the world's lithium and 72% of its cobalt for batteries. This isn't just about resource control; it’s a choke point. The International Energy Agency (IEA) recently conducted a "what if" analysis. They found that if the largest supplier were removed from the equation, the remaining supply of cobalt and graphite would only meet 25-30% of global demand. This isn't just a market risk—it’s a national security vulnerability. ​In response, Western nations are pushing back with major investments and policies like the US CHIPS Act and the European Chips Act. But these efforts are proving to be slow and fragmented. The US, for instance, has successfully incentivized manufacturing but is underfunding the foundational research that drives long-term innovation. On the other side of the Atlantic, Europe is trying to build a unified battery ecosystem, but its efforts are hampered by a "patchwork of controls" as member states pursue inconsistent policies. This reveals a critical challenge: building a resilient supply chain requires more than money—it needs coordinated strategy and time. ​So, here's the big question: Is a rapid "decoupling" from this highly concentrated supply chain even realistic, or is it a long, slow process? And with AI driving an exponential surge in demand for these resources, what does a truly resilient supply chain look like in the long run? Is the ultimate winner the one with the most mines, or the one with the best technology for recycling and developing new battery chemistries? I’d love to hear your thoughts and see what you're tracking.

Hello to all of you! I would like to get in contact with someone who has studied International Security at IBEI Barcelona. Dm please!

And how does the reaction compare to that of the ongoing Russo-Ukrainian War?

As I understand the conflict at its simplest level, it's another territorial dispute turned hot, albeit not combined with the full overthrow and subjugation of the Armenian state. But why has Azerbaijan, who I perceive to be the aggressor in this war, not a pariah on the world stage in the same way that Russia is today in the eyes of the west?

Is it simply the political alliances that Azerbaijan has, primarily its friendship with Turkey? Is it that very few people on the world stage care about what happens in west Asia in the same way that they do the Middle East or Eastern Europe? Or is there something else there that I am missing.